Meconopsis
by EternityRoze262
Summary: Drew's known throughout as the Prince of Unova. But when he's forced to attend Petalburg High as a foreign exchange student, who does he get as a host? None other than the Princess of Hoenn, May Maple. How will things turn out for them? Will love blossom?
1. Prologue

**Meconopsis**

By EternityRoze262

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

~_Love blossoms like a meconopsis flower. Its beginning seeds are difficult to grow, its simplicity is admired by those who are willing to look at it, but when it blooms, its entity brings about a spring of hope. _

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><p><strong>~Drew~ <strong>

"Nine down. One to go," a teenage boy shouted with laughter as he ran down the school hallways. Two other boys ran behind him with grinning faces, and the three of them gave each other a look of excitement before stopping by a large glass door.

"Alright Dan, you got this door."

"Sure thing, Drew," Dan answered as he opened a bottle of vegetable oil and poured it all over the entrance of the door.

The three boys snickered as they finished their job. Drew, who was the leader of their little mischievous group, gave the two boys a nod of approval, and then they ran off. It wasn't long before they met up with a girl about the same age who approached the group with a flirtatious smile.

"Did you finish oiling all the exits?" the girl asked quickly.

"We got them all, Tiff. It's time to put part three into action," Drew replied and then casually walked up to the nearest fire alarm. Without any hesitation, he pulled the alarm, causing a blaring siren to go off throughout the entire school.

**~May~**

"So what's this place you want to show me?" asked a high school girl as she walked alongside her best friend.

"It's a surprise, May. I can't tell you," her friend answered with a smirk.

May whined at the response she received but retained herself from showing any signs of disappointment.

The two high-schoolers continued to walk at a steady pace admiring the scenery before them. It was an early school morning just as the sun was beginning to rise. May and her best friend, Misty, had set out earlier than before because Misty had wanted to show May a special place she had known for a while now.

As they strolled down the streets of the city, May suddenly broke out into a starting conversation.

"When did Mrs. Winters say the foreign exchange students were coming again?"

Misty thought about it for a second before replying back, "I remember her saying it was next week."

"I really hope it's next week. I'm so excited to see who I get!" May exclaimed.

"You have that one girl from Kanto, remember?"

"Yeah, but I can't wait to see her!" May found herself suddenly thrilled about the foreign exchange students that she almost tripped on her own two feet. Luckily she caught herself, but a light blush came across her face as she looked around to see if anyone else had seen her stumble. Misty let out a small giggle from beside her.

"I heard you have that girl from Sinnoh. I think her name was Dawn?" May said quickly to avoid any more awkwardness.

"Yep. I'm really excited to meet her too!" Misty replied. She glanced at the area they were at before taking a sharp turn into a small alleyway. "This way," she said in a low voice.

"Where are we going?" May asked in confusion, but continued to follow Misty.

"To the place. Where else?"

"Well, it doesn't look like there's anything here."

"That's what everyone thinks," Misty said raising her eyebrows and then stopped before a small door on the side of a tall building. "We're here."

May examined the place where "here" was. It didn't look like a formal place or anything. And judging by the place they were at, she wondered where exactly Misty had taken her to. What was behind those walls? She was going to find out soon enough.

"What does this place look like to you?" Misty questioned with a smile.

"It looks like the alley of an apartment home?" May responded hesitantly.

"In a way, you're correct," Misty replied before turning the knob of the door. A jingling noise was produced when it opened, and May cautiously peered inside to see what was in the building.

"May…" Misty started slowly. "Welcome to the Meconopsis."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I really wanted to try to write a high school drama. Yes, I know; it's so cliché. We'll see how that turns out with this one. These ideas have been in my head for such a long time that I just needed to do something with them! It was driving me crazy! So I'm posting up just the prologue for now until I finish at least _Ordinary Girl_. I also created an opening theme for this story that you can watch; the link is on my profile. And I personally made up that quote in the beginning just to have it as a sort of introduction. Hope you enjoyed it so far!


	2. Chapter 1: Tearing Apart the Clique

**Chapter 1**

Tearing Apart the Clique

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><p>The seconds ticked by endlessly as a group of people stared each other down, each on their own side of an imaginary dividing line. On one side, sat a young man in front of a large, formal desk with his hands folded on top of it, twiddling his fingers every now and then out of nervousness. Standing beside him were two female teachers, each crossing their arms and shuffling about because of the long silence.<p>

On the other side of the desk sat four high school students, all appearing quite comfortable with their seating on the chairs. They all knew they were in trouble, but their expressions didn't show the worried faces most people would have on when being sent to the principal's office. Reporting there was nothing new to those four.

The man in the center desk gave a loud clearing of his throat, before finally breaking the silence with his deep voice. However, when he spoke, it came out softly, as if he didn't know how to handle the situation anymore.

"Zachary, Daniel," he started down the row, looking each one in the eye as he spoke their name. "Tiffany…"

Tiffany, the only girl in the student group, scoffed upon hearing her name and rolled her eyes. She quickly diverted her gaze to the side, finding it a bother to be seated in the principal's office at all.

"…and Drew Hayden," the man finished giving Drew a disappointed look. Drew stared right back at him with just as much intensity. He felt somewhat proud that he was the only one called by both his first and last name, and a grin came upon his face.

"Don't give me that grin, Mr. Hayden!" the man spoke raising his voice. "Do you know how many people were injured because of your little prank?"

"I'm guessing fifteen," Drew replied rather aggravated. He already knew the number of people injured from being told countless times by other students and teachers around the school.

"Don't _guess_ fifteen, you_ know_ it's fifteen. Fifteen students and teachers injured! What were you thinking? Buttering the stair railings, oiling the floor exits _and_ pulling the fire alarm? It took more than half an hour for the fire department to arrive and reset everything! What do you have to say about that?"

"If there was a fire, we'd all be dead."

"Don't—," the principal started sharply, but then immediately cut himself off. He blew out a loud breath of air, looking around the room for a better way to approach the arrogant teenager and his little gang.

It definitely wasn't the first time Drew and his group of friends were caught for their troublesome actions. Throughout the high school years, they had been known as the popular yet mischievous group. They were always skipping class, pulling pranks on the school and stealing cheap items from just about any store. Their junior year, however, had probably grown to be worse than the previous year, for all their actions had been taken to an extreme level where neither the principal nor the teachers could handle it any longer.

Deciding on a suspension for the four students wasn't enough to punish them for their misbehavior. Especially since they've all been suspended and received numerous detentions for the past three years and it had made no impact at all. However, after a faculty meeting over the week since the prank happened, the principal, teachers and administrators had finally agreed on a final decision that would hopefully change the ways of the group: tearing the group apart. And they had already arranged the plan of action with the parents of the students, all who agreed, making it easier to carry out the plan.

"I think now would be a good time to explain to Drew what his punishment is," one of the lady teachers spoke out, trying to keep the discussion going.

"Ah, yes. Mr. Hayden…" the principal started slowly. Drew leaned forward, eager to hear what his punishment would be. He was already accustomed to detentions and suspensions. Nothing could be worse than that. What power did the people of the school have over him? They couldn't make him go to jail which was probably the worst punishment he could receive.

"As your punishment, you will be transferring to the Hoenn region where you will attend Petalburg High School for the rest of the school year," the principal finished strongly.

None of the four students were expecting anything as bizarre as that, and they all flinched upon hearing the principal finish his sentence; Tiffany, Daniel and Zachary all turned to Drew, not believing what was happening.

"What?" Zachary shouted in shock. "You can't just decide that for him!"

"I've already consulted his parents about it and they've agreed to it as well. So I've informed them to pack all your belongings so you can leave on the plane to Hoenn today," the head of the school announced proudly.

"Today?" Tiffany shrieked jumping out of her seat. "And you couldn't have told us this sooner?"

"If I did, you would have done everything you could to avoid it, so it was best to tell you at the last minute."

"He's _my_ boyfriend! If he's going then I'm going too!"

"That won't be necessary Tiffany. The rest of you are going to be suspended for a week, and you'll be helping the janitors clean up after classes for the rest of the school year."

"You can't take him away from me! And you can't stop me from leaving him either!" Tiffany screamed aloud clinging onto Drew. She was obviously more upset about her boyfriend leaving her than her own punishment, which wasn't even as bad as it could've been.

Drew stood up from his seat and put his arms around Tiffany, smiling as he did so. He purposely kept his eyes on the teachers and head leader to ensure that they were paying attention to him.

"Don't worry Tiff; I'll be fine," Drew said in a soothing voice. He tilted her head up, assuring her that it was going to be okay, and then kissed her softly on the lips.

"Hey, stop that right now!" one of the lady teacher yelled out as she took a step toward the couple.

Drew and Tiffany broke their kiss slowly, staring carelessly at the teacher who had just yelled at them, but continuing to cling onto each other.

"I'm sorry. Did you want some PDA too?" Drew asked in a mocking voice.

"Just… get out of here now," the teacher said waving a hand off. "Your flight leaves in four hours."

"Finally," Drew said giving an exasperated sigh, "I can get out of this ridiculous school."

He quickly made his way out of the office with his arm around Tiffany. Zachary and Daniel followed right behind them as they left the room just as the first hour bell rang. The group walked out of the office to see a hallway bursting with students leaving their classrooms in a hurry. As they walked down the hallway, they were given numerous stares from just about every student who passed them. Whispers were traded throughout friend groups. Drew and the group couldn't hear what they were saying exactly but every now and then they heard Drew's name being said, so they knew that they were talking about them.

As they neared the exit, they passed another group of junior guys who appeared to be popular. Drew and his group knew, however, that the group of guys were just wannabes, jealous of the fact that they couldn't match up to Drew's group. The two groups became rivals fast, and it soon became a competition of which group was the most popular and "coolest" in the school. But it was obvious to Drew that they were no match for competition. Still, it didn't beat the purpose that the two were fighting for the higher status, but with Drew being the number one guy that girls favored, the other group never stood a chance. Never-the-less, the other group kept trying.

"Hey Drew," one of the bigger guys said, obviously the leader of it. "I heard you finally got told of your punishment. Rumors about it have been going out throughout the school for the past week, being sure not to be told to you four. I bet you're really shocked of what it is, huh? Looks like you're not going to be the 'Prince of Unova' anymore, isn't that right?"

Drew gave a deadly glare at the guy who dared to be his rival for the high status position; but he kept his cool, showing no facial expressions. He wasn't exactly in the mood to fight, seeing as how he was to leave the region in less than four hours, but he could still stand up to that minor and give him a good last speech before heading off to Hoenn.

"You're right," Drew finally answered, "I'm going to be the Prince of Unova _and _the Prince of Hoenn while you, here, are still nothing." He enunciated the word "nothing" as if it was the most important word in his dictionary. The rival gaped at Drew, speechless because of Drew's intimidating behavior and ability to stun him completely with his words.

Finally, the four troublemakers casually exited the school building and started walking down the sidewalk with no set destination in mind. Hearing the news that Drew was to transfer to a school in a completely different region surprised the group so much that all they had in mind was to spend their last couple hours with their leader of the group. And they wondered what they were going to do without him there. Would they still be as provoking and intimidating without Drew?

"This is stupid," Daniel stated coldly as he put his hands in his jean pockets.

"Drew having to transfer to Hoenn? Yeah that is stupid. Why didn't you say anything about it before, Dan?" Zach said annoyed that his best friend was going to be miles away from them.

Dan lifted his head to face the empty streets ahead of him. He was more of the quiet type, but mischievous none the less. No one ever knew what was inside that mind of his as he chose to keep his thoughts to himself. He was the smartest in the group when it came to school though, and usually tended to remain silent. However, when he did speak, it was just as strong as how Drew would speak.

"You know what they're trying to do, right?" he continued on, politely ignoring Zach's question because of the way he had unintentionally spoken it in a rude manner.

"What?" Zach asked irritably.

"They're trying to change him. They think if he transfers to another school, meets new friends and spends time with others who behave well, his personality will change and he'll become a more responsible person."

Drew scoffed at the statement. "There's no way I'm going to change."

"Are you sure about that, Drew?" Tiffany asked in a worried tone. "What if you _do_ make new friends? What if you get a new girlfriend? You've already got so many fan girls falling for you here in Unova!"

"Tiff, you're letting all this go to your head," Drew stated giving a flick of his long bangs. He slowed to a stop, making the other three stop as well and then turned to face Tiffany.

"I promise you…," he said quietly, and then looked up to face the rest of his group. "I promise all of you that I, Drew Hayden, will not change and I'll still be the same person I was when I come back to Unova."

"But what if for some reason you do change?" Zach inquired with worriment.

"Well, if I do change…" Drew started slowly, "…then I owe each of you a thousand dollars and each of you can land a punch on me. I won't resist. Hayden promise." He put a hand by his chest to ensure that he was being serious.

"Are you sure about that?" Tiffany asked not believing in the ridiculous cliché statement.

"He made a Hayden promise. It's official and sealed within our group forever," Zach answered.

"Oh, what are we going to do without you?" Tiffany sobbed as she wrapped her arms around Drew. He pulled her into a tight embrace, entangling his fingers within her angelic light blond hair to keep the memories of him and Tiffany together. They had been together since the beginnings of high school, and there was never a day when the two were apart. Leaving each other for an entire school year was going to be hard for both of them.

Tiffany calmed herself as she inhaled the sweet scent of roses on Drew. He always had such a feminine aroma to him even though he was one of the manliest guys she knew. But she knew the reason being was because Drew's parents had loved roses; they always grew them at his house and surprisingly, he had taken a liking to them too; it was something she would've never expected from such an intimidating guy.

In time, she had grown to know Drew more than any other girl he talked to, and probably understood him the most as well. Still, as she was wrapped in his tight embrace, a part of her found it strange that Drew didn't protest about having to attend the high school in Hoenn. Maybe Drew already knew he didn't stand a chance arguing back. Maybe he wanted to transfer there. Or maybe he was interested in finding himself a new girl to flirt with. Just the thought of that send chills down her spine. But she knew Drew wouldn't do that her. Tiffany smiled and shook off the thought; she was probably just overthinking the possibilities.

Suddenly, Drew pulled her away from him, startling her for a second until she saw a deep red rose in front of her face.

"As long as this rose doesn't wilt, I won't change," Drew said in a low voice.

Tiffany let out a small giggle at Drew's lame sayings, and then gingerly took the beautiful rose into her hand. "Don't give me that crap, Drew."

"Hey, you never know," Dan said shrugging his shoulders, "He has quite the green thumb just like his parents."

"Or in this case, the green hair," Zach teased.

"Shut up, Zach," Drew remarked playfully as he gracefully flicked his green hair again. Zach laughed, amused by Drew's reaction to his joke.

"Call me every night, ok?" said Tiffany in a soft voice.

"I will, Tiff."

"What should we do for our final hours together?" Dan asked. Everyone looked to Drew for the answer since he was the one who did the deciding for the group. Drew looked around the area, suddenly feeling the need to have a last moment of fun with his best friends.

With a mischievous smirk, he replied, "Let's go get some ice cream."

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><p>"Ice cream!" Zach shouted as he carried four boxes of different flavored popsicles in his arms. Tiffany, Dan and Drew were right beside him with armfuls of ice cream boxes, and together they ran throughout the large grocery store, purposefully causing food to fall from the shelves of each aisle.<p>

Bystanders watched the group in shock as they ransacked the store. Two people working at a single cash register gaped as they watched the scene unfold before their eyes; one of the men appearing absolutely emotionless while the other one looked furious at the disastrous mess. Finally, the emotionless worker picked up the phone and spoke into it, his message being amplified throughout the entire store by the speakers.

"Clean up on aisle two," he said nonchalantly as he watched the group swing by the aisle. "And aisle three… and aisle four…"

"And the rest of the entire fricking store!" the other worker shouted into the phone deeply frustrated by the ruckus Drew's group had created. The little group laughed loudly as they enjoyed their last moments together. Who knew how long it would be until they did something like that again.


	3. Chapter 2: Let's Set Some Restrictions

**Chapter 2**

Let's Set Some Restrictions

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><p>Riiiing!<p>

The last hour bell rang throughout Petalburg High, dismissing all students from a long day of school. Almost immediately, hundreds of high school students poured out into the hallways. Conversations filled up every space of the school as many students either rushed out the school or took their time packing their bags as they talked with friends.

From one of the history classrooms were May and Misty, the last students to leave as they were taking their time to pack up their supplies. The girls grabbed their books from the top of their desks and walked out of the room with a light smile. They paused when they reached the empty hallways to take in the new atmosphere.

"It's been such a long week!" Misty stated giving a sigh of relief that the weekend had finally arrived.

"But the weekend isn't the only thing I'm excited for! Remember, the foreign exchange students are here today!" May squealed in delight.

"I know! I'm so excited!"

"Me too! Let's hurry and put our books away so we can go to the foreign exchange classroom!"

The two teenagers skipped down the hallways until they reached Misty's locker. The orange haired girl quickly turned the combination lock, opening her locker and then putting her books away before hesitating to grab her coat. May leaned against the lockers trying to be patient with Misty, but she was just so full of energy from her excitement that it was almost impossible for her to contain it.

"Hey Misty!" came a shout from afar.

Upon the calling, Misty turned to see who it was. A tan skinned boy with spiky black hair came running toward them, waving a hand. May turned involuntarily at the calling as well, but from the boy's greeting it seemed like he was talking more to Misty than to her.

"Ash!" Misty cried out happily but then put on a look of confusion. "Where's your hat?"

The boy, Ash, stopped before her locker and patted his hatless head with a frown. "The science teacher took it in sixth hour," he replied miserably. "'No hats allowed in school'. I don't know why they decided to take it now. I've been wearing that hat since school started this year. And that was a month ago!"

Misty gave a friendly laugh. "So when are you getting it back?"

"Right now," Ash answered with a smile. "Want to go with me to the science room and then we can stop at the Meconopsis?" His eyes were focused on Misty but he soon remembered that May was there as well. "You too May," he added, not wanting to seem rude by not inviting her.

Misty's smile slowly turned into an apologetic frown. "Sorry Ash. May and I have a club meeting. The foreign exchange students are here today, remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Ash said in disappointment as he rubbed the back of his head. Both girls could tell that he was upset but didn't know what to say for comfort. "But you'll be coming to the Meconopsis later on with the exchange students, right?" Ash recovered.

"Of course we will, Ash," Misty replied almost instantly.

"Great! Well, I'll see you later then. Bye!" Ash called out and then ran off to the science hallway.

"Bye!" Misty called back giving him a wave even though he was already too far away to see it. She refocused on grabbing her coat and then shut her locker. When she turned to face May, she was met with a wide grin that appeared to be that of teasing.

"He really wanted to be with you, didn't he?" May stated slyly.

"Oh, shut up May," Misty replied as she ran ahead of her.

"Why should I?"

Misty turned around and leaned forward. "Because you're only good at love when it comes to other people."

"What do you mean by that?" May questioned, furrowing her eyebrows as she approached her friend.

"Well, remember that Brendan guy?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"And how he used to give you those origami flowers?"

May only kept a blank face as Misty tried to hint her notion.

"My point exactly."

"What?" May shouted as she tried to interpret Misty's explanation.

"Never mind. Come on! Let's hurry to the foreign exchange classroom!"

They raced to the other end of the school building which was where the club was located. There weren't many people to the club, but it was enough to be successful. When they entered the classroom, all members were already there. Not everyone was required to host an exchange student, though it was quite an experience in doing so, which was why Misty and May were so excited to finally have that opportunity.

"All members of our club are here!" Mrs. Winters, the leader of the club, stated cheerfully throwing her arms up in the air. "Now, let's introduce our foreign exchange students!" She waved a hand toward the back of the classroom where a line of new students situated quietly.

"All right, go and find your partners!" she exclaimed and then headed to one side of the room.

"Oh, May!" she stopped suddenly and then lowered herself to May's level. "I need to discuss something with you. Can you come back with me?"

May nodded in agreement but soon became worried about why she wanted to talk with her. When they reached an area further away from the rest of the group, Mrs. Winters whispered, "How would you feel about hosting a boy?"

May's jaw dropped, unable to take in the unexpected news. "I guess it would be okay," she stammered with a light blush.

"Would it?" the teacher asked with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. It's just that there's been a sudden change of plans. Turns out the girl from Kanto wasn't coming anymore and a boy from Unova was already on the way here at the last minute." She paused to allow May to take in the surprising news. "You have a brother, right May? I'm sure the foreign exchange student would get along well with him."

"Yes, I do have a brother," May answered confidently for the first time since she took in the news.

"I know that it's quite unacceptable that this should happen, but I've talked with the administrators and for this instance, it should be fine if you host a boy. I know how much you've wanted to host someone and he's the only person left …unless you want to wait until next year…" Mrs. Winters dragged on before pausing to wait for May's reply.

"I'll do it!" May answered with enthusiasm.

"I thought so," Mrs. Winters said happily and then pointed out to the crowd. "His name's Drew; he's that boy in the corner with green hair. You can't miss him."

May noted the description Mrs. Winters gave her and moved in the direction she was previously pointing at. May's eyes wandered for a brief second before settling on a lonely teenaged boy in the place Mrs. Winters described. Though his arms were crossed, emanating an aura that screamed "leave me alone", May didn't let that discourage her. With a short intake of breath, she made her way up to him, greeting her new family member for the year.

"So your name's Drew?" May started, intrigued by his stunning looks. He looked at her coldly, his emerald eyes seemed to sparkle but without any sort of meaning behind them. The boy scoffed, almost ridiculing the fact that the girl standing in front of him was really his host. He was caught off guard, expecting to have a guy host him; and the least he wanted was to have a dorky looking girl host him and for him to live with the girl for an entire school year.

"What's it to you?" he replied, giving an involuntary flick of his hair.

"Ah-" May stumbled as she tried to think of a comeback to his ungrateful behavior toward her. She scrunched up her face and hoped he wouldn't act like that the entire time she was hosting him. "Because I'm hosting you that's why," she answered in a forced polite tone.

May saw the boy roll his eyes before meeting her gaze again. "Then I guess you can call me that," he said with a sound of disapproval in his voice.

"Call you what? Oh right," May said with a nervous chuckle at her slow reply. The boy named Drew merely smirked at her and then unraveled his arms as he finally took a good look at the girl in front of him. Her bright sapphire eyes caught his attention, making her whole face light up. Chestnut brown hair framed her face, reaching down to her shoulders in straight layers and then curving inwards at the ends. Drew glanced at her entire presence and assumed that her favorite color was red due to her sense of fashion. With a slight shake of his head he sighed and then looked away.

"What?" May asked when he didn't say anything.

"Nothing. So when do we leave?" Drew muttered.

"After this meeting's over which will be in about an hour or so."

Drew stared blankly to the side, cursing silently because of the time he'd waste with meaningless activities at the school.

"All right then," he said solemnly and then walked toward the center of the classroom where everyone had started to gather. May followed after, a bit annoyed by his attitude and then wondered if she'd made the right decision by agreeing to host him.

The rest of the meeting consisted of introductions between all the foreign exchange students and the current students of Petalburg High and then a couple games to get to know each other. The new students were a bit shy at first because of being in a new place, but everyone was laughing and having a great time before the meeting was over, minus Drew who just sat there talking at the minimum even though everyone tried to include him in.

Before long, the club meeting was over. May, Drew, Misty and her exchange student, Dawn, all walked home together. The girls giggled every so often while Drew lingered behind. Once they neared May's house, Misty ran ahead and brought their conversation to a close. "Well, it's been a really exciting day. We'll meet you later at the Meconopsis, right?"

"Yep! See you guys later!" May exclaimed with a wave. As Misty and Dawn continued on their walk home, May ran through her front yard and reached for the doorknob. Drew trailed behind with his hands in his pockets, not caring to give a second glance at the new world around him.

"Mom! We're home!" May yelled as she opened the door. She left the door open so Drew could let himself in while she slipped off her shoes.

"Hello and welcome!" May's mother greeted with an elated yet mature tone of voice. She strolled into the room right as Drew stepped into the house. "I just heard about the last minute mix up, but your father hasn't been informed of the news yet."

"Well isn't that great?" May said with a weak smile and then turned to Drew. "Drew, this is my mom, Caroline. Mom, this is Drew."

"It's so nice to meet you, Drew," Caroline said as she extended out a hand. To May's surprise, Drew actually took her mom's hand and shook it firmly.

"Likewise," Drew stated with a grin.

"I've just received your suitcases and set them in your new bedroom upstairs. May, would you show Drew his room?"

"Sure thing," May replied with a hint of annoyance. She didn't wait to know if Drew was following her or not and just skittered up the steps. At the end of the hallway she stood at the edge of a room and gestured inside.

"Here's your room where you'll be staying with us for the rest of the school year," she said deliberately, cringing at the thought of him living in her house for an entire school year.

"Thank you very much," Drew said articulating each and every word, having the least bit of thanks. He immediately stepped inside the room and knelt by his suitcases, wondering what exactly his parents had packed for him. Not long after he entered the room did he hear the door behind him creak shut. He turned his head slightly to see a flash of red in his peripheral vision.

"Do you even want to be here? Or are you just like this because I'm the one hosting you?" came a low voice from behind Drew. He turned around completely to see May standing by the door, one hand on the knob while the other one on her chest. He smirked at her presence.

"Well, what do you think?" he replied.

"I don't want you to hate me, but if this is how you're going to act, I want to at least know why you're acting this way!"

Drew grew quiet, remaining mysterious to his host as turned around to dig around his suitcase.

"Do you even remember my name?" May screamed out when he continued to ignore her. At this statement, the exchange student paused to take in the question, and then stood up, causing May to blink in surprise. He quickly strode over to her and grabbed the hand that was by her chest, preventing any escape from him. May tried to back away but was powerless against Drew's strong grip. He pushed her against the door and leaned his head forward so that only she would be able to hear his words.

"Listen, _May_," he said slowly, emphasizing her name to ensure her that he did indeed know her name, "I have my reasons for being here, and if it's about me hating you that you're worried about, then all you have to do is not be so nosy and just leave me alone, and there won't be any problems with that."

May felt her whole body shake at his explanation. She wasn't expecting such a direct confrontation and was taken aback by his menacing words. Surely he couldn't act that way for the entire year! Finally finding her courage, she broke away his grasp which she found to be easy since he immediately let go. Forcing open the door, she ran out not stopping once to look behind her. Drew let out a smirk upon his accomplishment and simply went back to unpacking his personal belongings.

"May, is Drew in his room right now?" Caroline asked her once she entered the living room.

"Y-yeah he's just unpacking," May stammered, trying not to leave a bad impression on Drew even though he truly was an insolent guy.

"Ah okay. Norman, Drew's in the guest room. Why don't you have May introduce him to you?"

"Dad's home?" May asked as she peered more into the room. A tall man with a neat, short, navy haircut walked into the room beaming at his daughter.

"Hey, so this Drew's upstairs then?" Norman repeated.

"Mhm. You can go meet him. I have to go tell Max something," May said quickly and then ran off before her dad could question her. She definitely did not want to see Drew again, especially after that confrontation with him. Norman watched as his daughter disappeared beyond the corner and then gave his wife a puzzling look. She merely shrugged and then made her way back to the kitchen.

Norman took his time as he climbed the steps to the guest room. He wasn't exactly content with having a boy living with them for an entire school year, though there was nothing much they could do about it now. He only wanted to settle some restrictions that he had within the house.

Upon nearing the guest room, Norman prepared himself for what he was to say to Drew. But when he reached the door, he was surprised to see that it had opened, and there standing in front of him was a green haired boy looking almost as surprised as he was.

"Uh hello there. I'm Norman. May's father," Norman greeted awkwardly as he held out a hand. Drew shook it and then replied, "Nice to meet you. I'm Drew Hayden."

"So I've heard. Well then, I hope you'll enjoy your stay here and that we all become close like a family." Norman let go of his hand, but suddenly everything he wanted to say had drifted off his mind, and he couldn't find a focus on a single thought.

"Right," Drew said with a hint of doubt in his voice. He had nothing more to say to the man and was prepared to leave when Norman spoke out.

"Look, I don't know how quite to say this but, my daughter is hosting you… but-"

"Don't worry, Norman," Drew cut off suddenly, "I have no interest whatsoever in your daughter," he replied with a smirk and then walked around Norman casually. As if he'd live in the house his whole life, Drew made his way to the bathroom and shut the door.

That last statement caught Norman off guard, and he wasn't sure if he should've been happy or frustrated by his remark.

"W-well…ok then," Normal stuttered to no one in particular, trying to sound confident.

* * *

><p>Later that afternoon, May paced back and forth in her room, pondering if she should invite Drew to the Meconopsis or not. It certainly wasn't a place she'd want someone as rude as Drew to just walk on in. With a sigh, she pulled herself together and peeked outside her door down the hallway. She noted which room was Drew's, sketching out a plan in her mind.<p>

"All right, we'll see how this works!" she announced to herself as she pumped two fists in front of her. Without further hesitation, she tore out a scrap piece of paper and scribbled intently on it with black pen.

_Did you want to go somewhere? _She wrote on the paper. She left her room, being sure to be stealthy as she tip-toed to Drew's bedroom. Pausing before his room, she held her breath and then slipped the paper underneath his door. Internally squealing in her mind, she waited impatiently outside for his reply, and then wondered if he would even bother with her note at all.

It wasn't long after that she saw that same piece of paper being slipped out from beneath Drew's bedroom. She gingerly picked up the paper, remaining quiet as she did so and noticed a small font just beneath her writing.

_No_

With a light sigh, she walked back to her room, not caring to be quiet anymore and then crumpled up the paper into her wastebasket. Her eyes lit up as she came to a decision to just leave for the Meconopsis without Drew. Grabbing her jacket, she ran down the stairs and threw open the front door just as her mom appeared.

"May, where are you going?" she inquired stirring a huge bowl that she was carrying, obviously making dinner.

"I'm just going out, mom" May answered bluntly.

"Well where's Drew? Didn't you invite him out too?"

May rolled her eyes. "Yes, but he didn't want to go."

"Then you should stay with him, that way he doesn't feel so lonely on his first day here," Caroline insisted.

"Mom, he obviously doesn't want to hang out with me, so I'm just going to give him what he wants and-"

"May! He might just be a bit uncomfortable with the sudden new change he's had to go through. Give him some time and I'm sure you two will be great friends."

"But I can't even get to know him!" May argued.

"It'll take some time," Caroline sang out as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Right," May pouted as she slammed the door. Sulking all the way up her room, she made a glance over to Drew's room whose door was still closed and then scoffed. "What is he doing in there anyways?" she grumbled.

Inside Drew's room, Drew had fully unpacked everything in his suitcases, revealing all the items his parents had packed. After organizing them in what he considered to be neat, he eyed the bed, felt the covers and then collapsed onto it without a second thought. His eyes fell to the ceiling, nothing too interesting to look at but it was relaxing at the least. Closing his eyes, he thought of his friends back at home and how they were coping without him there. His last thought was of Tiffany, and at this, he shot his eyes open to check on the time. The clock right next to his read 6:04 pm. Drew wondered what time it was in Unova and decided to give his girlfriend a call. He quickly went to his contacts list, pressed a few buttons and then put the phone up to his ear. The dial rung once before a high pitched voice answered on the other line.

"Drewy!" the voice squealed with delight. Drew let out a soft chuckle at the sound of her voice.

"Hey Tiff, how's it going?" he said smiling for the first time since his arrival in Hoenn.

"I miss you sooo much Drew! Ugh, the janitors aren't that strict, but they still make us do a lot of work. You have no idea how disgusting the bathrooms are at the end of the week. Like, ew!"

Drew laughed aloud at her statement and then replied, "Well, I'm glad I got to miss out on that."

"That is no laughing matter Drew. I hate the job so much. Even the boys are complaining."

"And how are they doing?"

"Mm, they're missing you a lot too. Not a minute goes by that they complain about wanting you back here."

"I see."

Drew heard a soft sigh come from the other end. "I need you here Drewy."

"I know, I wish I was there with you too Tiff," Drew cooed.

"So who's hosting you anyways? Is he muscular? Nice? Rude?"

Drew hesitated before replying back, "Well that's the funny thing Tiff. _She's _actually trying to be nice to me."

There was silence at the end of the line and Drew knew that Tiffany was probably having a jealousy fit right about now. He noticed her change of voice when she replied back. "You better not do anything to her, Drew."

"Don't even worry about it. I set my limits with her the moment I had the chance."

"I'm serious, Drew! Why did they have to pair you up with a girl?"

"Not too sure, but listen Tiff, I'm not getting close to her. You're the only girl I need." When he didn't receive a reply, he readjusted himself on the bed and then whispered, "Hey, get out that rose I gave you right before I left."

He heard light shuffling in the background and then silence once again. "Do you have it with you?" he asked.

"Yes," he heard a small voice coming from the other end. "It smells like you…"

"Is it still as beautiful as when I gave it to you?"

"Nothing has changed."

"And neither have my feelings for you. If anything they only grow."

He heard Tiffany's sweet laughter and smiled, satisfied that she was happy again. "Oh Drewy," she said in a light tone.

* * *

><p>"-and then my mom yelled at me saying I had to stay home too just because Drew wouldn't come with," May complained into her cellphone.<p>

"So you can't come to the Meconopsis at all?" asked the person on the other line.

"No, but you see Misty, even if I did, I wouldn't want Drew to come in anyways. He's so... stuck up and doesn't talk to anyone. I wouldn't trust him in there."

"I don't know if I would trust him either," Misty replied.

"Who wouldn't May trust?" May heard a low voice ask in the background.

"Drew, the foreign exchange student she's hosting," Misty replied back to the person.

"Oh, well tell her that Gary here will knock some sense into him so she should bring him on over."

"The only problem is that he doesn't want to go anywhere Gary!"

"Psh. Then we blindfold him, kidnap him and bring him here!"

"Yeah sure," Misty commented sarcastically and then returned her attention to May. "Next time, just smack him or something if he talks like that again."

"Only you would do that Misty," May said playfully. Misty gave a cheerful laugh at that statement.

"Ah, well I'm sorry you can't come tonight. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

"Okay then," Misty said with a playful laughter in between her words.

In their own separate rooms, Drew talked for the rest of the night with his girlfriend while May conversed with her own friends who were at the secret place she couldn't go to that night. After meeting with the family and having dinner later that night, they immediately went their own ways and headed off for bed. Neither one enjoyed the fact of having each other around for company. Unfortunately, it would be something they would dread for the rest of the long school year. They both wondered how slow the day would carry out to be. Thankfully the next day was the weekend.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Thank you everyone for reading! I'm trying to come back to writing again though it's a bit hard when I have a lot going on as well. So has anyone seen the theme song to this story yet? More information on my profile page~


	4. Chapter 3: New Rivals Enter

**Chapter 3**

New Rivals Enter

* * *

><p>Saturday came and went like any other day for any other person, except for May. Time passed slowly for her that day. Too slowly. Especially when her mom repeatedly told her to spend time with their new guest: do whatever he wanted to do. However, when all Drew wanted to do was lounge about in his room, that left May with nothing else to do but to roll around on her bed. And once again, because Drew refused to go, May had to call her friends with the disappointing news that she wasn't going to be present at the Meconopsis that day either. She despised Drew's behavior and wondered what in Arceus's name that kid was doing locked up in his room. Every now and then she would write notes to him in which she would slide them underneath his bedroom door, only to receive a heartbreaking one-worded answer or no reply at all. The exchange student's only concern was to keep his promise made to his friends back in Unova.<p>

Sunlight reached the Maple family's house Sunday morning. It was another relaxing day before May and Drew had to attend school the following day. May didn't expect this day to be any more exciting than the previous day. She prepared to engulf herself in watching dramas the entire afternoon.

With a sigh, May stared blankly at the ceiling from her bed, trying to figure out what to do about her exchange student. What broke her thought was the shout of her mom calling everyone to breakfast. Eager for her mom's delicious cooking, May raced down the stairs to the dining room table. Pulling out a seat for herself, she noted Drew's absence, convinced that he was the most insolent person she'd ever met. Max and Norman began to settle themselves around the table, and soon after, Caroline appeared with plates and silverware.

"Is Drew awake yet?" Caroline asked, particularly to May. Incidentally, everyone turned to her for the answer.

"If he was, he would probably be here now," May replied, ready to serve herself some scrambled eggs.

At that moment, Drew entered the room, quickly finding his seat at the empty chair and smiled lightly at Caroline. His luscious chartreuse hair still had loose strands from the hasty job of brushing it due to being rushed to breakfast. May didn't want to admit it, but she thought that hairstyle suited him very well. It was almost cute. Keyword: almost.

"Sorry for the delay," Drew said in an earnest voice, "I was still getting ready when you called."

"It's no problem. We haven't even started eating yet," Caroline replied handing him a plate.

"Now that everyone's here, let's eat!" Max exclaimed, hurrying the pancakes to his plate. Everyone helped themselves to Caroline's cooking, munching softly because of the awkward presence of the exchange student. It was only the third day since his arrival after all, and Drew's reserved attitude made it difficult for any one of the Maple family members to get to know him. Amidst their silence, Caroline happily made a statement.

"So May! Any fun plans for you and Drew to do today? I know yesterday was a rather relaxing day."

May stuffed her mouth with a forkful of scrambled eggs, confident that Drew had no intention of doing anything with her. "I don't have anything planned. We might just do whatever at home again," she answered before taking another bite of her eggs.

"Aw, what's the fun in that?" Caroline teased, trying to lighten the mood. "Drew hasn't seen anything in Hoenn. You guys should go outside! Show him around! Go to all your favorite places!"

"I don't think Drew's interested in-" May started, but Drew surprisingly cut her off with an enthusiastic voice.

"That sounds great. I'd like to see what Hoenn has to offer."

May nearly spit out her food from hearing his response. Her mouth dropped as she stared blankly at him. Drew? Wanting to go outside? After locking himself in his room the whole time? He was obviously trying to be polite to Caroline. There was no way he was actually interested in seeing Hoenn or spending any time with her at all.

"Wonderful!" Caroline cried in joy. "You two can leave right after breakfast! There's plenty to see in Petalburg, and I'm sure you'll need the entire day just to experience some of it."

May forced herself to swallow her food. She couldn't imagine being alone with Drew again. That was merely a disaster waiting to happen. She doubted Drew would even cooperate with her. He would most likely ditch her, or worse, approach her the way he did back when she first showed him to his room. May shook her head at the thought. She would ensure their distance while they were "seeing Petalburg".

The two strangers strolled down the sidewalk around the neighborhood, each admiring their own sights they found to be fascinating, or more accurately, trying to look fascinated for lack of socializing. May walked slightly forward with Drew following closely behind, but keeping his own distance as well. It wasn't long before May realized the situation. She had no idea where she was headed in the first place; and with Drew slacking behind her, they would appear to be an awkward sight to see walking down the street. She didn't want to people to start making wrong assumptions. Clearing her throat, May attempted to start a casual conversation.

"So, how old are you again?" she began but to no avail.

"Favorite color?" she tried again.

"What do you like to do?" Still no response. Finally, she let out a sigh and turned to face Drew. "Why are you even here?" she asked bleakly.

Drew paused for a moment, sorting out the words before he uttered them out loud. He gave May a cold stare. "Let's just say I didn't come here on my own will."

"You don't say," May retorted menacingly. They glared at each other, but not long before Drew stepped ahead of May. The kid didn't know where they were going, but he assumed the best action was to keep following the sidewalk. Infuriated, May chased after him, but after two steps she felt powerful arms grab her shoulders from behind. Something covered her eyes so that she was met with darkness.

"Ah! Drew!" she cried out in panic, but could say no more as something else was wrapped around her mouth. Her last glimpse of Drew was of him walking away. She wondered if the people captured him too. May struggled to escape, her screams muffled by the covering on her mouth. Two hands grabbed her small wrists, bounding her in that spot. Whoever had her was far too strong for her to take on. The next thing she knew, she was being lifted off her feet and carried away.

* * *

><p>May felt the person carrying her open a door and then sat her down on a chair. She suddenly felt so weak but was desperate to escape. If Drew was in the room with her, she would have recovered more courage, but she didn't even know if he was. May squirmed around a little, but apparently it was too much movement, for the kidnapper tied her hands together in the back. Surprisingly, it wasn't as tight as she expected. Still the thought of being trapping remained in her consciousness. She let out a little squeak, hoping to communicate and receive some response from Drew or the other people in the room. At that instant, her fingers came in contact with something that felt like another person's fingers. Her body went cold from the touch before realizing that it was probably Drew's fingers from the case of being back-to-back with her. Any other time, May would have been disgusted by the fact of even touching Drew. In this situation, however, she was assured to have him with her.<p>

The sound of light laughter filled the room, resonating from the kidnappers. They ripped off the blindfolds so that May could see and breathe again. But she was confused, for she could still only see darkness. There was a sound like that of someone striking a match, and suddenly the silhouette of a person came into view. Whoever it was wore a hood completely hiding the person's face. May gulped in fear. She was too young to die! Another match was struck showcasing the same scene: another person wearing a hood. The kidnappers slowly approached May and Drew. May gripped Drew's fingers out of desperation, but the responding fingers refused to let them touch. May was just about to scream when all the lights suddenly turned on and a familiar face was at the door.

"Are you two done with your games? I can't believe you actually went out and kidnapped them!"

May's eyes lit up as she saw her best friend standing beside her. "Misty!" she shouted with tears in her eyes.

The two hooded people revealed themselves. It was May's friends Gary and Ash. "I told you we were gonna do it, didn't I?" Gary said with a grin.

"Yeah, we weren't joking when we said we were going to," Ash added.

"You've completely frightened the poor girl and the new foreign exchange student! You two should get a beating for pulling off such a reckless prank! What if someone actually thought you two were real kidnappers and called the police?" Misty retorted.

Before either one of the boys could respond, a low snicker filled the room. "Well, I must say I'm rather impressed." Everyone looked around to find whoever said that. It came from Drew. "Out of all the pranks I've pulled in high school, I never thought of actually kidnapping someone like this before." A smirk showed on his face.

"And don't you dare try it out! Don't tell me you're one of those troublemakers," Misty yelled.

A rather mischievous smile crawled upon Gary's face as he made his way toward the trapped pair. "I think I'm going to like this guy," he muttered in a low voice. He quickly released May and Drew from being captive on the chairs. Immediately, May leapt into Misty's arms, hugging her best friend to release the tension from almost being "kidnapped". Drew stayed positioned in his seat, not finding any reason to be in a rush. From there, Gary took the opportunity to introduce himself.

"I'm Gary," he said extending a hand. The exchange student glanced up at the guy standing before him. He did appear the troublesome yet cool type. Respectively, Drew shook his hand all the while remaining wary. The two shook firmly, eyeing each other in a serious yet playful manner, letting the other one know who the stronger one was. Neither one wanted to be the first to let go.

"Great. Now we're really going to get in trouble with the police having another guy around sharing crazy schemes," Misty said in disapproval.

"Hey! Together, we could take over the world," Gary stated letting go of Drew's hand.

In the meantime, May examined her surroundings, recognizing the area. "Are we over the Meconopsis?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're in one of Gary's apartment rooms now," Ash answered.

"We are?" May shouted in excitement. "Oh thank you so much for bringing us here!"

"What did I tell ya? We said we were going to kidnap you guys and bring you on over here if you didn't come yourself," Gary replied rather proud of himself. "You should be happy, Misty."

The red-head shook her head at him. She still couldn't forgive him for actually going out and making the appearance that they were kidnappers. She especially couldn't believe that Ash agreed to it too.

"What's done is done. Let's just go show the new exchange student around the Meconopsis," Ash said in his most carefree voice. Everyone agreed on that point and left the apartment room. They took a couple flights of stairs down to the lowest portion of the building where it almost seemed abandoned. There was just one place in particular that bloomed into life, and that was the Meconopsis. Gary gladly opened the door to their place allowing everyone to head inside. This was it. This was the Meconopsis.

A huge room decorated with various housing accessories captured Drew's attention. Off to one side was a large counter with elegant high stooled seats set in front of it. Behind the counter were shelves full of drinks that consisted anywhere from water to juice to wine. Of course, none of the friends actually drank the wine. It was merely there for decoration or for older customers who wanted it. Double-swinging doors stood nearby, leading to the kitchen where snacks were made. Wooden tables were placed across the open floor, and there was even a second floor where more tables were set. Everything had an old medieval feel to it but was also kept very tidy and quite impressive for the looks of Drew. Couches were arranged in a circle for people to hang out. Beautiful assorted flowers adorned the entire room: freshening up the place and making it look livelier than ever. It almost looked to the point where the place was being over-decorated but everything meshed together nicely.

Gary noticed Drew's interest in the place and stood beside him. "Wondering what this place is?" he asked. When Drew made eye contact with him, he took it as a yes. "This place was founded by my family when we first moved here. Back then it was dusty as hell and broken down pretty badly. If it wasn't for my family and other helpers, this area would still be abandoned. Together, we transformed this place into the Meconopsis. We all hang out here, study together… We're basically family."

"It's kept a bit of a secret for the reason that we don't want it to be exposed to the wrong people, if you get what I'm saying. Of course, it's welcomed to anyone who manages to find it and need a good place to escape reality," Misty added to the explanation.

"We usually don't get a lot of customers. There are just the regulars. But everyone respects each other here," Ash included to be part of the conversation.

Trying not to sound too interested Drew asked, "So is this a café or what?"

"You can call it that, though it's not an official place or job. My parents come here sometimes to help, but otherwise I run the place, and my apartment is right above which makes it easy to take care of it," said Gary as he stepped behind the counter. "What can I get ya?" He spread his arms to showcase his collection of drinks.

"I'm fine," Drew replied turning his attention away from Gary.

"Oh hey! Don't give me that, uh-" Gary yelled but then cut himself off realizing that he didn't know the exchange student's name. "May, what's this guy's name?"

Debating whether or not she wanted to say his real name aloud, she came to a decision that she was too tired to tease the exchange student now and told everyone his name. "Drew," she said with a look that clearly stated that she wasn't enjoying hosting him. Everyone could understand why.

"All right, Drew." Gary started preparing him a drink. He swiftly leapt over the counter in a single movement and landed in front of Drew. "This one's for you." He didn't let Drew hesitate to think and shoved the drink in his hands.

"Better drink it up buddy. I worked hard on that." Gary threw himself on a nearby couch and winked at Drew.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would think you were flirting with him!" Misty combated with a shake of her head. Her hands flew to her hips as she leaned forward to glare at Gary. He only put one leg on top of the other and rested his elbow on the arm of the couch, supporting his head up.

"Call it what you want. I'm just trying to get him comfortable, setting down the rules and showing him who's boss around here."

"We have rules?" Ash wondered absentmindedly.

"They're not rules Ash, they're basically expectations, but it's pretty much common sense," Misty commented taking a seat on another nearby couch. May heard the sound of a door opening and looked to her left. A young looking girl with midnight blue hair stepped out from the women's bathroom. She stopped when she saw new faces in front of her and let out a massive smile.

"Hello everyone! You actually came today!" she said skipping over to the group.

"Oh, that's right. This is Dawn, the other exchange student. May, Drew, you two remember her right?" Misty explained.

"Of course I do!" May answered.

"Okay, everyone sit down. We're going to play some icebreaker games," Gary stated all of a sudden. The friends sat on the couches facing each other. Drew wasn't used to following orders so much but decided to listen to Gary anyways. Sooner or later he would show Gary that he was going to be the new Prince of Hoenn.

"What first Gary?" Ash inquired. Gary thought for a moment before replying, "This one's for the new members. The name game. You've probably heard us say each other's name at least once here already, so let's see who remembers them all. Dawn probably has a head start from being at the Meconopsis yesterday and the day before but still."

"Sounds great," Misty commented. Gary nodded at his genius idea but noticed May's silence.

"What's wrong May? You're usually more talkative than this," he stated. "Having a rough day? Is Drew giving you trouble?" Gary continued with a grin, eyeing Drew from the corner of his eyes. Drew stared back emotionless but everyone could tell there was fire in his eyes. He was irritated that Gary could boss everyone around like that. He was usually the one with that role. For now, he would control himself.

"That's obviously it," Dawn remarked back at Gary's suggestions with a giggle. Her cute reply loosened up the tension in the room and everyone relaxed back in their seat.

"Now to make this fair, we'll have Dawn and Drew write down our names on paper. Whoever gets them all right wins a free dessert from me." Gary smiled widely pulling out two small notepads and pens from what seemed to be out of nowhere. He handed them to the new guests and slouched back onto his seat. "Let's start with me. What's my name?"

At this statement, Dawn drew her pen and started scribbling intently at the paper in front of her. A second later, she put down her pen and looked over to Drew, waiting impatiently. The boy took his time to write, deliberately putting in efforts to his strokes.

"Let's see what you guys wrote!" Ash exclaimed leaning forward.

Dawn happily held out her notepad with the word "Gary" written on there in curly handwriting. Drew did the same, but without any expression.

"Jary," Gary read aloud from Drew's notepad. "Are you making fun of me?" Drew veered his view to meet Gary's and the two exchanged a rivalry moment in silence. "Well, whatever. Dawn wins this round for spelling my name right," he said ignoring Drew's mockery.

"Me next!" Ash shouted jumping on his feet. Once again, Dawn scribbled down her answer with Drew slowly following after. The two held out their notepads for everyone to see once they were done. On Dawn's paper had the word "Ash", and on Drew's paper had the word-

"Soot?" Ash cried out in disappointment. His face dropped at the joke and he slumped back in his seat. There was an outburst of laughter from beside him.

"How long are you going to keep joking around Drew?" Gary remarked with a mischievous grin. Drew merely smirked back. At this, Gary pointed a finger to Misty. "All right, what's her name?"

Upon Dawn's notepad had the word "Misty" with a smiley face next to it. On Drew's was the word-

"Kasumi? Where do you even get a name like that from?" Misty questioned.

"Hey! You can't make fun of Misty like that!" Ash defended rising to his feet. Luckily Misty was there to hold him down.

"I-it's all right, Ash. We don't need any violence here now," she managed to say and then slyly muttered to herself, "I'll take care of him when he's least expecting it."

"And last but not least, the pretty Princess of Hoenn here," Gary said pointing to May. May twitched at the fact that Gary had just called her pretty, but pretended not to let it flutter her emotions. At the same time, Drew flinched upon hearing May's title. His eyes diverted to peek at her, actually noticing her presence. He wondered if she was really called that or if Gary was just joking around again. Setting the thought aside, he began to write down his answer.

May did notice that she had been unusually quiet lately. That was mostly because of the fact that Drew was there. Their last encounter had put her in a wary state. She didn't want to be confronted by anyone else like that again, let alone Drew himself again. Then there was the moment she grabbed his fingers for comfort, and as she came across that thought again, she bit her lip, a shade of pink came upon her cheeks. Nevertheless, the time she had spent with Drew had put her into a state of misery, leaving her to wonder how she would be able to cope with the exchange student for an entire school year. It had only been three days and she could already feel the wrath of his being there. May shook her head furiously to rid her of her troublesome thoughts. She looked up to see the word "May" on Dawn's notepad and on Drew's was the word-

"October?" May shrieked louder than she expected, scaring the entire crew out of their seats. She surprised herself at her sudden outburst and awkwardly glanced around meeting shocked faces. Hiding her embarrassment, she quickly sat down, her hair loosely covering her face. A moment later, she lifted her head to scowl at Drew who gave her a threatening look back.

"All right children. Calm down," Gary interrupted stepping between the two. "Really Drew, I don't know what you're up to, but you better get our names down, otherwise I'm going to have to start calling you 'cabbage-head'."

At any other time, the rest of the group would have protested at Gary calling the new student names, but for this occasion no one said anything. They tried being respectful to Drew. Deep down, they struggled to control themselves from screaming at the boy.

"Looks like Dawn is the winner," Ash stated. Dawn squealed in delight and ran up to Misty to share her excitement. There, Misty congratulated her, jumping up and down like little kids again. Together the two girls shared a giggle and then turned to Gary, awaiting Dawn's prize.

"I'll make something for everyone, but Dawn gets a special dessert," Gary said with a wink, making his way to the back where the kitchen was located. "Oh and here's my class schedule if you guys want to compare it." He threw a folded piece of paper across the counter before disappearing behind the double swinging doors.

Dawn eagerly went to unfold the paper and took out her class schedule. She took a seat on one of the high chairs by the counter juxtaposing the two sheets of paper. The rest of the group soon gathered around Dawn, pulling up chairs and standing on the other side of the counter to catch a glimpse at the schedules. Only Drew stayed behind to lounge about on the couches.

"Let's see if Dawn has any classes with us!" Misty exclaimed pulling out her class schedule. Ash and May did the same.

Wanting to be nice, Ash stuck his head out to shout to Drew. "Drew, let's compare schedules! Come on! Don't make me get up and drag you over here!"

May scoffed and then said in a low voice, "Ugh I hope I don't have any classes with him."

"I think we're bound to have at least one class with him," Misty whispered back within the small circle. "Even so, you'll be living with him."

"Please don't remind me," May groaned.

"Hey! We all have P.E. together!" Dawn shouted in excitement.

"Really? All five of us?" Misty inquired.

"Yup!" Innocently, Dawn turned to include Drew in their discussion. "Drew, do you have P.E. fifth hour?"

Curious, Drew pulled out his class schedule, which he had been keeping in his pocket, and double checked it. He gave the group a blank stare.

"That means yes!" Dawn immediately cried in excitement. The two best friends however, couldn't see how Dawn could comprehend his emotionless gaze as a "yes". Moreover, they couldn't understand why Dawn was so piped up about having Drew in their fifth hour class. They both sighed, giving in to the fact that there was nothing they could do to change schedules now.

After a while comparing schedules, it turned out that there were some classes that the friends had together which was good news to everyone. Only Drew's schedule, minus fifth hour, was still a mystery to everyone.

"Guess who's back!" came a voice from behind the swinging doors. Gary stepped out with a platter of desserts on them. The friends gasped at this and welcomed Gary back. "I've got a rich slice of strawberry cheesecake for the winner here," he said setting down the dessert in front of Dawn. "And for the rest of us, some of Gary's famous brownies." He passed out the plates of desserts to everyone, their mouths gaping at the appetizing dessert.

"Come and eat your dessert," Gary said addressing to Drew, "Or else I'll come over there and feed you myself."

"I swear Gary's going gay for Drew," Misty whispered playfully to May.

"And what if I am?" Gary playfully stated back.

Dawn let out a disgusted look, "Ugh, stop it please. If there's any sign of some major shonen-ai, then I will leave."

From the couch, Drew snickered softly, amused with Gary's jokes. Although he hated to admit it, he found Gary to be a pretty cool guy even for being his rival. Feeling the desire to break his silence, he stood up from the couch, pretending to stretch his legs. Everyone noticed his action. They unintentionally stared at him, wondering what his next move was going to be. Slowly, Drew took a step towards the counter. All eyes were on him. Just when everyone thought Drew would be considerate and join their group, he shrugged carelessly and trotted off in the opposite direction, entering the men's bathroom. A look of disappointment showed on everyone's faces, except for Gary's.

"Aw, hell no! Did he just refuse my specially made brownie?" Gary scowled before furiously grabbing Drew's slice of brownie and leaping over the counter once again. "I'm gonna shove this thing down his throat and teach him not to mess with Jary again!" He swiftly plunged after Drew, leaving the rest of the group speechless.

"Jary…?" Ash repeated slowly.

"Well, I hope Gary does end up knocking some sense into that guy," Misty murmured.

"I doubt it," May said rolling her eyes.

An abrupt yet cute gasp suddenly filled the air. "What if they're doing some shonen-ai things in the bathroom?" Dawn wondered, placing her hands on her soft cheeks. Her face depicted a strike of horror. "That would be the most disgusting thing ever!" she squealed and then shook her head to rid of the thought.

"Stop imagining things, girl. You're the one who said you'd be out if any of that happened, yet you're the one who's mentioning these things," Misty combated in a teasing voice.

"Eww!" The exchange student cried out before taking quick bites of her strawberry cheesecake to refocus her mind on something else. The rest of the group chuckled at her reaction. It was going to be quite a day at the Meconopsis.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Yes, it's been so long since I've updated. I truly apologize. I know there's only one chapter left of "Ordinary Girl" as well but ahh it can get overwhelming with so much going on haha. I am alive though! Just… not as active on here as I used to be. I do have a Facebook page where I can keep in touch with everyone though and keep you guys updated xD More info on my profile page. Oh and there's a picture that reminds me of the Meconopsis, where I got some inspiration from. I will post that on my profile page. Hope these newer chapters haven't been lacking. Enjoy~


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